TAG Immobilien AG

Survey: Two out of three tenants want more senior-friendly flats

(DGAP-Media / 03.09.2014 / 09:00)

Press release

Survey: Two out of three tenants want more senior-friendly flats

Hamburg (September 3, 2014) - Germany's tenants worry about their living
arrangements in old age. Two thirds believe that their current home is
unsuitable for life as a senior or with disabilities. Sixty percent believe
that the elderly are left to fend for themselves in their living
environments. These are the findings of a population-representative survey
carried out by TAG Immobilien AG with the Technical University of
Darmstadt. It involved interviews with 1,000 tenants in Germany.

"In the years ahead, the proportion of the population requiring daily
assistance will increase. Housing companies urgently need to prepare for
this and adapt their portfolios accordingly. New and creative solutions are
required here," says Claudia Hoyer, the TAG Executive Board member
responsible for real estate management. At this time, only five percent of
the country's eleven million senior households are wheelchair-accessible.

From assisted living to neighbourhood concepts and flat-sharing
communities, there are a variety of ways to create suitable housing for
seniors. "Real-estate companies should see such concepts as opportunities
rather than a hurdle," says Hoyer. "The idea should be to help older people
live a self-determined, autonomous and independent life for as long as
possible - including eldercare services on request." For example, in Erfurt
TAG Immobilien has its own representative from a welfare association on the
premises to look after the needs of older tenants, advise them on receiving
eldercare in their own home, and handle shopping trips in town. The tenants
here live in barrier-free apartments with wheelchair ramps, wide doors, and
sufficient space in the toilets, along with floor-level showers, glass
balconies and a lift.

There are similar offers in other cities. In Gera, TAG Wohnen and Caritas
will jointly open a consulting, meeting and communication centre on over
270 square meters in October 2014, with the aim of developing a resilient
network of neighbourhood assistance. "People want to grow old in their own
homes and living environment, despite increasing limitations. Housing
companies such as TAG Immobilien can provide assistance in designing a
self-determined life, at all stages of life, by offering leisure
activities, advice, flexibility and by adapting living spaces," says
Andreas Zube, Managing Director of Caritas in Gera.

In Erfurt and Döbeln, TAG Wohnen organises neighbourhood parties and
community gardens for young and old to lift tenants out of their anonymity
and strengthen a sense of community. Because, as it turns out, young people